The Uniqueness of Place in The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko

Abstract

This reflection suggests that The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir by Leslie Marmon Silko (2010) is a good starting point for understanding the relationship between humans and place. It also suggests that Silko’s text is a valid attempt to answer the question posted by Lawrence Buell: «Must literature always lead us away from the physical 2, never back to it?», emphasizing that Silko’s spiritual connection to animals and landscapes conveys a new relationship to nature in general. Moreover, from an ecocritcal perspective, The Turquoise Ledge exemplifies the changing attitudes that Aldo Leopold sees as necessary for the existence of a land ethic, one that takes into account the relationship between human beings and the earth, the animals and the plants. Through daily walks in the Tucson Mountains, Silko not only encourages careful and attentive observation of the natural world, but, hopefully, guides the reader to look anew at the places around him and, through respect and humility, to think of them as community and home.